1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Didier Reynders of Belgium in Brussels on October 20. In their meeting, the two top diplomats exchanged views on ways that the Republic of Korea and Belgium can step up substantive cooperation; respond jointly to the North Korean nuclear program and situations in other regions; and work together on the international stage.

2. Minister Kang, attaching significance to having chosen the European capital of Brussels as the destination of her first visit to Europe since her taking up the post, took note of the growing, mutually beneficial cooperation across the board between the ROK and Belgium, one of the ROK’s traditional allies that had fought alongside the ROK in the Korean War.

※ Belgium sent some 3,500 soldiers to the Korean War.

3. The two Ministers drew a common understanding that as their two countries share many similarities, including the export-dependent economic structure and active use of outstanding human resources, they have great potential for cooperation. They agreed to double efforts to boost trade and investment, particularly substantive cooperation, including in the chemical engineering field, where the two countries are currently working together.

° They noted with appreciation that the visit to the ROK in June by the Belgian economic delegation led by Princess Astrid had been very productive in various areas, including small- and medium-sized enterprises, finance, food and logistics, which helped promote bilateral relations to a great extent.

° In particular, Minister Kang, taking note of cooperation with Belgium, a country with a high level of competitiveness in chemistry, expressed hope for further, close cooperation, such as that for the construction of the Solvay R&D Center at Ewha Womans University.

4. Minister Kang, bringing attention to the progress in the preparations for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, asked Belgium to take an active part in the event. Minister Reynders, expressing wish for the success of the PyeongChang Olympics, mentioned that Belgium will render strong cooperation to the ROK to that end.

5. The two Ministers shared the view that the ultimate goal of sanctioning and pressuring North Korea is to bring the North back to denuclearization talks and that it is important for the international community to be united in sanctioning and pressuring the North. They agreed to make more efforts to lead the North toward denuclearization, including continually sending to the North the message that if and when it makes the right choice, it will be offered a bright future.

° Minister Kang extended appreciation to Belgium, a member of the EU and NATO, for strongly supporting the ROK government’s policy toward North Korea. Minister Reynders responded by expressing all-out support for the ROK government’s efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

6. The two Ministers consulted with each other on ways to work together on such major global issues as climate change and development cooperation, agreeing to remain highly cooperative with each other in that regard.

° Minister Kang, pointing out the importance of implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change, asked the Belgian government to support the bid of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an international organization established at the initiative of the ROK, to join the EU.

° Meanwhile, Minister Reynders suggested that the ROK and Belgium set up a high-level policy consultation mechanism to seek ways to step up cooperation on the bilateral, regional and global levels, which Minister Kang welcomed in response.

7. The first ROK-Belgium foreign ministerial meeting in six years since October 2011 is seen to have served as an opportunity to further strengthen the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries.


* unofficial translation